EDITORIAL: Unless violence ends now, cut aid to Egypt

Egypt is roiling from a brutal crackdown by its interim military government last week and from continuing violence since, as the Muslim Brotherhood and other Muslim Egyptians protest last week's slaughter. Hundreds have died and thousands lie in makeshift hospitals, the toll sure to increase.

The most populous country in the Arab world and, at least until now, a key stabilizing force in the Middle East teeters on the brink of a disastrous civil war that would have worldwide implications.

The military's brutality against the people prompted President Barack Obama on Thursday to cancel joint military exercises set for September, a good first step. He did not revoke the $1.3 billion in aid the U.S. has committed to Egypt, but he did say, "Our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual."

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It's time for an ultimatum. The president should set clear standards for Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi's military government to meet in the coming weeks to avoid a cutoff of aid. If U.S. demands go ignored, then Obama has to make good on the threat. Milder diplomacy has not been effective.

Obama has moved slowly until now in hope that the military's deposing of elected President Mohamed Morsi last month was a detour on the path to democracy rather than a U-turn to brutal dictatorship in the model of ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled for decades.

But Egypt's path now appears to lead over a cliff to civil war. This would be catastrophic not only for its people but for the prospect of broader peace in the Middle East, where Egypt's stable relationship with Israel has been a saving grace.

Morsi was the first elected president in the wake of Egypt's Arab Spring, but he was no George Washington. The darling of the religious conservative Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi was lukewarm at best to the principles of democratic reform and less than tolerant of differing viewpoints, which had cost him substantial support. Many Egyptians were relieved when the military took him out in July.

But Brotherhood protests against the takeover grew. And since last week's violence, large numbers of Egyptians not politically aligned with the Brotherhood are joining them in the streets, outraged by the military's brutality. Many are turning their wrath on Coptic Christians, a small minority who lead a fragile existence in the best of times and now are vilified as military sympathizers.

Government bloodletting on the scale of Syria's would be especially tragic for Egypt in the wake of what had seemed to be a peaceful democratic revolution.

The military government can step back and avoid pushing the people over the brink to civil war. The United States, Europe and the rest of the world need to pile on incentives and hope they find a way to influence a government beholden to no one -- least of all, apparently, its people.